Today, The Star Online hosted a “live” interview with Datuk Dr Maximus Ongkili, Science, Technology and Innovation minister of Malaysia via an IRC like interface where viewers could read moderated questions posed to him and his replies.The topic was The Internet: Is speed all that matters?

I was interested to see what he would have to say and how live the interview would be. I was deeply unimpressed as there was really no form of active interaction between the audience and him. For all we know, he could have been asleep at home, while all this was going on.

There was more life in the Twittersphere and there were active conversations going on. Here is a transcript of the live interview, for those who might have missed it. And at the end, are some responses from the Twittersphere.

3:36 The Star Online:

Good afternoon and thank you for joining The Star Online today for our exclusive live blogchat with Datuk Dr Maximus Ongkili, Science, Technology and Innovation Minister. Dr Max has kindly taken time out of his busy schedule today to respond to some queries that you folks out there might have.

3:37 The Star Online:  We are getting Dr Max ready to reply to questions, so we’ll be ready to begin in a few minutes.

3:40 The Star Online:  The theme for today’s chat with Dr Max is “The Internet: Is speed all that matters.

3:40 The Star Online:  We would like to invite all of you tuning in here to leave your comments and questions for Dr Max, and we will try to fit in as many as possible over the next hour. We will also be posting several questions from readers of The Star Online who responded for our call for advance questions for Dr Max.

3:43 The Star Online:  Along the way, we will be uploading segments from the earlier video interview we conducted with Dr Max at Studio V at 1-Utama Shopping Centre in Petaling Jaya earlier.

3:47 The Star Online: It appears that Dr Max is ready to join us. Welcome Datuk.

3:47 Dr Max: Hello everyone, thank you for having me here today.

3:47 The Star Online:  Datuk, we have questions coming in live, and some advance questions as well. The first one comes from Shermaine.

3:47 The Star Online:

Hi Dr Maximus,

The Internet is the basis of much technological development. It’s not surprising that while Malaysia has a wealth of IT talents, and has been actively investing in technology and education, Internet usage still falls behind. Two factors plays a vital role, cost of internet and speed, this is largely due to lack of competition. The last time I was home, about a year ago, Internet service start from RM67 per month (not including phone line rental), mobile broadband costs a whopping RM 130 a month (apologies if these numbers are not exactly accurate). I am currently based in London, my Internet costs £15 a month, which after coversion to RM still works out about the same if not cheaper. This means Malaysians are paying London rate!
What are plans in the pipeline to at least make Internet connection more affordable and reachable for Malaysians?

Regards,
Shermaine

3:49 Dr Max:  Thanks Shermaine for your valuable input and questions

3:49 Dr Max:  Actually it is a chicken and egg situation.

3:51 Dr Max:

As I said earlier, the infrastructure for broadband is only starting to roll out. Hence, it has been costly for the existing infrastructure. We need major roll out of the broadband plan in order to reduce costs. PIKOM has proposed that the cost should be no more than RM30 per month to makebroadband accessible to all and increase Internet access.

3:51 Dr Max:  Once the broadband roll out is completed, the costs will average out and achieve the PIKOM proposal.

3:52 [Comment From Gabriel] what is the fucntion of MDeC within MOSTI and how does it differ from MSC Malaysia?

3:53 Dr Max:  MSC Malaysia is the flagship for the development of Multimedia Super Corridor and MDeC is the agency that spearheads the MSC development.

3:53 [Comment From Bob Chua] Good Afternoon Datuk – Glad to see you in Cyberspace. As a fellow Sabahan, do you see Sabah playing a role or having the opportunity to position itself as an ICT hub, perhaps via SDC (Sabah Development Corridor) or MSC Sabah?

3:56 Dr Max:

Thank you Bob. When there is a development, there is always an opportunity for the use of ICT to drive modernisation. I have already asked the Sabah state government to submit   a proposal for an MSC centre as a start before we talk about MSC Sabah. I understand that the proposal is being prepared and MOSTI will do its best to take the necessary action.

3:56 The Star Online:

This is another advance question, Datuk, from Fikri Salleh from the University of Melbourne.

Dear Dr. Ongkili,
I am an Electrical Engineering undergraduate from the University of Melbourne, currently majoring in telecommunications. In Australia they charge you for download quotas, where the more you download, the more you will have to pay, say 100 GB @ $100 versus 20 GB @ $20, after which the speed is throttled down (slowed). By charging more for more quota, this can improve overall connection quality. The heavy downloaders can still download, but now they have to pay more. Thus we normal users do not have to put up with the network being bogged due to these heavy downloaders, because there will be fewer of them.

Regards,
Fikri Saleh

3:58 Dr Max:  Hello Fikri, thanks for your comment. I totally agree with you. I will convey the concern and proposal to my colleague Information, Communications and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Utama Dr Rais Yatim.

3:58 The Star Online:  Datuk, this is a follow up question to your response earlier on the broadband rollout.

3:58 [Comment From Jerome] Hi Dr, when will be the projected completion time for the roll out? Surely we have an expected time line, don’t we?

3:59 The Star Online:  While we wait for Dr Max to respond, if you would like to listen to the earlier exclusive interview with him, please refresh your page and click on the audio links available.

4:02 Dr Max:  Thank you for your question. The whole broadband initiative will take 10 years to complete. But the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC)  has organised the period into two-year plans. Priority will be given to Zone 1 i.e. the business, commercial and residential sectors. Of course, we are asking that the rural sector i.e. Zone 3 should be given attention at the same time. I will not agree that we have to wait 10 years to enjoy the Internet spoeds enjoyed by developed countries.

4:02 [Comment From CHEWLP] How can the ministry play a role to make sure consumer get what they pay for ?

4:06 Dr Max:  As I said, MOSTI deals with technology and content of the ICT and Internet services. We will voice out to the Cabinet and the relevant ministries our concerns regarding making Internet access as affordable as possible. In   fact, we have already done that.

4:06 [Comment From Firedauz]

Good evening, Dr Max. How do you see the future of Internet service in Malaysia? Will one day we will be able to grace the ultra-fast, fiber-optic Internet speed of Japan, which only cost around RM50 per month for the consumers? I have been based in Tokyo for several years now, enjoying the luxury of the quality services and speed of Sofbank and Yahoo! BB, which is why I hope that one day for the average citizens of Malaysia, I see them enjoying the same benefit as I do. Thank you — Firedauz.

4:09 Dr Max:  Thank Firedauz. My desire is to ensure all Malaysians could enjoy the same Internet speed as what developed countries like Japan enjoy. It is possible with the political will of the Government and the cooperation of all key industry players including state governments. As I said, we should not wait 10 years to enjoy that level of Internet speed in developed countries. My own expectation is that there will be a major achievement within the next three years.

4:09 The Star Online:  This question from Azlan, Datuk, is a follow up question on the broadband rollout replied earlier.

4:09 [Comment From azlan] What speed do we get in 10 years? and will the price be reasonable?

4:12 Dr Max:

Thanks Azlan. I think that the target speed of 20Mbps for the high speed broadband for the commercial sector and not less than 2Mbps for the general population especially for Sabah and Sarawak can be achieved within the next three years. Price is difficult to determine but the proposal of PIKOM i.e. RM30 per month is a reasonable target to achieve.

4:12 The Star Online:

Here is another advance question we received.

Datuk, can you elaborate a little bit on the MyIdeas portal?

Thank you, – JR

4:18 Dr Max:  Hello JR. About MyIdeas portal, it is to be launched by the Prime Minister in the next two weeks. It is a portal aimed at inviting the public to submit ideas to MOSTI regarding 2010 Year of Creativity and Innovation. The public can submit ANY ideas  regarding how we should solve the economic, social and technological problems that Malaysia is facing. Excellent ideas will be developed further by scientists and the final idea patented or ‘copyrighted’  to the original proposer. Such ideas or innovations will then be showcased during next year’s Year of Creativity and Innovation. So watch out for the portal launching on July 8th and please participate and submit your great ideas.

4:18 The Star Online:

I  would suggest some community/rural area projects to be implemented at a lower cost such as the design and development of a broadband/satellite services for a wireless connection at a lower cost for rural areas. This will benefit many like teachers, students, and people who are unable to travel or get connected. This will also indirectly motivate and make full use of ICT applications.

We also need to have applications for video conferencing, distance learning, VoIP, internet education and community service besides e-Government applications.

Thanks and best regards,
Dinesh Wasoo

4:20 Dr Max:  Good afternoon Dinesh. I share your concern and proposal. That’s why for broadband for the general population (BBGP), we are proposing that we should opt for WiWi technology i.e. combination of Wimax and Wifi through the use of satellite infrastructure rather than laying out fibre-optic lines.

4:20 [Comment From Xtina] Hello Datuk, you proposed a National Innovation Foundation when you first became the MOSTI Minister. What has become of that plan?

4:24 Dr Max:  Hello Xtina. The National Innovation Foundation (NIF) has started to roll out its activities. The MyIdeas portal will be managed by NIF. It will also spearhead the organising of the 2010 Year of Creativity and Innovation. As part of the preparation, there will be creativity competitions at district and state levels. It will also embark on innovation awareness programmes for students, youths and woman groups  commencing in August 2009. NIF website will be up and running by August 1st and the public will be able to visit it and participate in the various programmes planned.

4:24 [Comment From Chee Yan Kuan] National Innovation Policy is good.How do you monitor the progress of the National Innovation Policy?

4:28 Dr Max:  Hello Chee. A national implementation committee chaired by the Chief Secretary to the Government has already met three times in the last one year to spearhead implementation of innovation policies and programmes. Various briefings at sectoral and state levels have been undertaken. Exhibitions and competitions on innovation are held twice yearly.

4:28 [Comment From John] Hi Datuk, I always heard about CyberSecurity Malaysia in the radio station. what is the function of CyberSecurity within MOSTI

4:33 Dr Max:  Hello John, thanks for the question. If you’re in the Peninsula I   invite you to visit CyberSecurity Malaysia and have a first hand feel of the latest technologies used to keep cyberspace in Malaysia safe. CyberSecurity Malaysia is the national specialist centre delivering and ensuring cyber security. It deals with education and awareness programmes, training, digital forensics, certification, international networking and collaboration and policy research, and acts as a help centre including Cyber999. I will be launching Cyber999 on July 7th. So hope you could make it there, John.

4:33 The Star Online: One last question, Datuk.

4:33 [Comment From MD] Datuk, will foreign player be allowed to roll out broadband services here?

4:36 Dr Max: Thanks MD. Malaysian infrastructure industry has always been open to national and international players. You can see that from the number of service providers in the country that are foreign-based. As usual, priority will be given to national ICT companies that have international networking and partnerships.

4:36 The Star Online:  Sorry folks, but that’s all the   time we have with Dr Max today. We have received many questions and comments from you. Those that we have not managed to pose to the Minister today will be forwarded to MOSTI.

4:36 The Star Online:  Just a reminder, the video on the exclusive interview will be uploaded shortly. In the mean time, the audio version is already available. For those of you who are not able to see the link, please refresh your page.

4:36 The Star Online:  Thank you for your time, Dr Max.

4:37 Dr Max: Thank you for giving me the time to answer your questions. If you still have further questions, please send me an email listed on MOSTI’s website at www.mosti.gov.my or directly to me at ongkili@mosti.gov.my. Take care and have a good evening everyone.

4:38 The Star Online: Thank you all for joining us today and for sending in your questions. Please make use of the two email addresses provided by Dr Max to send in your queries and comments. Have a good evening ahead of you.

Polls held during the live interview…

Random tweets…

Post interview tweets…